The Permit Prince

PH. (305) 248-6126

The P e r m i t P r i n c e

“The Permit Prince”
By Capt. Dave Sutton

  If the Tarpon is the king of the flats, the Permit has to be a Prince. Definitely royalty to those who
have cast a fly to them over and over with mixed results, a Permit has to be one of the airs to the
thrown.

Whenever there is a group of saltwater anglers together in the same room the Permit always seems to
enter into the conversation. There is a special mystique surrounding this black-eyed member of the jack
family, whether it is on a wreck in deep water off the coast or on the flats in two feet of water, the
permit is by far the most prized catch an angler can achieve.

Two of my favorite Permit flies for the permit are the Quan and the Epoxy Moe

  A permit on fly is an astounding feet of amazement. To fool one of these warriors with a combination
of fur, feather & steel is the holy grail of saltwater flyfishing.

The story I tell a new fly angler who has chosen this quest begins much the same as he. With a first
time angler telling his guide on his first day of flyfishing here in South Florida, “I want to catch a permit
on fly”. The guide smiles and begins to prepare him for the task at hand. On the first flat of the day, the
guide spots a permit suspending on a drop off just under the surface of the water. As the guide
positions the boat, the angler is at the ready and finally makes the cast.

The fish approaches the fly and eats it, the hook is set and the battle is on. Into deep water the fish
runs trying his best to entangle the line in the forest of Fan coral, but the team of angler and guide
prevail. As the guide lands the fish by gently grasping him by the tail, the angler is ecstatic. Just then he
realizes the guide is weeping and to his puzzlement he asks why. “I would think you would be happy for
me catching a permit on fly the first day of trying”, he asks the guide. “I am very happy for you “ the
guide replies “but I also now how much time and how much money you will spend to do this again”.

  Don’t get me wrong; this sometimes is not that hard. I have had an angler hit a permit on the head
with a live crab and have the fish blow out, do a tight two-foot circle and eat the darn thing. The most
important thing I tell my anglers is the presentation of the bait. The fish must see the bait first with the
leader hidden behind it. Just like throwing at tarpon.

The best scenario is to be directly in front of the fish and by pulling the bait away from him he can only
see the bait, not the leader. When throwing from the side of a fish you should throw short of the fish and
strip away from him, thus concealing the leader again.

  The eyesight of a permit is second to none. With those big black eyes he can pick up movement fifty
feet away, so the less false casting, the better. I teach my new anglers to cast from the side rather
than overhead as to restrict the chance of being seen. This is a great advantage fishing all of the
species we sight-fish in clean, shallow water.

  A live crab is the best bet for fooling a permit. This is there favored forage and the reason we find
most of these fish hovering close to the surface of the water column. A swimming crab spends most of
his time on the surface clinging on to small floating weeds, which is just fine with the permit.

For hooks I use a MUSTAD 1/0 to 2/0 39951BLN Demon ® Circle Hook in Extra Fine Wire depending
on the size of my crabs. They should be no smaller than a half dollar up to a silver dollar size for most
permit up to twenty pounds, and about three inches across the carapace for fish over twenty pounds. I
am a true believer in circle hooks due to the 95% hook-up rate I have been experiencing. The 99%
placement of the hook at the corner of the mouth is a great advantage as well for releasing a fish
unharmed.

  Another advantage I have is the use of Power-Pro Lines. The sensitivity of this line is incredible, not to
mention the tiny diameter and the almost zero stretch factors. This line has been the deciding factor in
catching many permit due to actually cutting sea fans during the fight. I use the ten pound test when
fishing Biscayne Bay bones & permit, and upgrade to fifteen pound test when I am on the ocean side
due to the much larger fish found there.

I will use a 24 to 30 inch length shock leader of Seaguar Fluorocarbon in 20-pound strength for all
applications no matter what species I am hunting. The knot I use for this connection is a Palomar on the
Braid side, and an improved clinch on the fluorocarbon side. I have had the best luck with this knot and
it is smaller than using any other combination of knots.

  I like to fish the mouth of the creeks, The Ragged Key’s, Sands Cut, Cesar’s Creek, Broad Creek and
Angelfish creek, during the outgoing tides. The outgoing flow of water holds fish at the drop-offs to feed
on any crabs or shrimp that gets caught up in the wash. Pole the outside edges of the major current
areas and look for the dorsal and tailfins of the permit. They look like a black fillet knife blade in full
sunlight. The other thing I look for is the black forked tail of a fish that is moving or mudding on the
bottom, this is usually the first thing that comes visible if you have a broadside shot of the fish. If you
have a head on, or going away look at the fish, they will look like a small tarpon’s back, the color is
almost that dark.

               Be safe, and I will see you “On The Flats”